Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation

This new edition of the groundbreaking popular book is a must-have for both seasoned and new fans of anime. Japanese animation is more popular than ever following the 2002 Academy Award given to Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away . It confirmed that anime is more than just children's cartoons, often portraying important social and cultural themes. With new chapters on Spirited Away and other recent releases, including Howl's Moving Castle -Miyazaki's latest hit film, already breaking records in Japan--this edition will be the authoritative source on anime for an exploding market of viewers who want to know more.

Susan J. Napier is Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture at the University of Texas, Austin.

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION * Foreword to the Updated Edition * Why Anime? * Anime and Global/Local Identity * PART TWO: BODY, METAMORPHOSIS, IDENTITY * Akira and Ranma ½ : The Monstrous Adolescent * Controlling Bodies: The Body in Pornographic Anime * Ghosts and Machines: The Technological Body * Doll Parts: Technology and the Body in Ghost in the Shell * Stray: Gender Panics, Masculine Crises, and Fantasy * PART THREE: MAGICAL GIRLS AND FANTASY WORLDS * The Enchantment of Estrangement: The Shojo in the World of Miyazaki Hayao * Now You See Her, Now You Don't: The Disappeaing Shojo * Carnival and Conservatism in Romantic Comedy * PART FOUR: REMAKING MASTER NARRATIVES: ANIME CONFRONTS HISTORY * No More Words: Barefoot Gen, Grave of Fireflies, and “Victim’s History” * Princess Mononoke : Fantasy, the Feminine, and the Myth of “Progress” * Waiting for the End of the World: Apocalyptic Identity * Elegies PART ONE: INTRODUCTION * Foreword to the Updated Edition * Why Anime? * Anime and Global/Local Identity * PART TWO: BODY, METAMORPHOSIS, IDENTITY * Akira and Ranma ½ : The Monstrous Adolescent * Controlling Bodies: The Body in Pornographic Anime * Ghosts and Machines: The Technological Body * Doll Parts: Technology and the Body in Ghost in the Shell * Stray: Gender Panics, Masculine Crises, and Fantasy * PART THREE: MAGICAL GIRLS AND FANTASY WORLDS * The Enchantment of Estrangement: The Shojo in the World of Miyazaki Hayao * Now You See Her, Now You Don't: The Disappeaing Shojo * Carnival and Conservatism in Romantic Comedy * PART FOUR: REMAKING MASTER NARRATIVES: ANIME CONFRONTS HISTORY * No More Words: Barefoot Gen, Grave of Fireflies, and “Victim’s History” * Princess Mononoke : Fantasy, the Feminine, and the Myth of “Progress” * Waiting for the End of the World: Apocalyptic Identity * Elegies